The Difference Between Healthy And Unhealthy Fear

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all live completely fearless lives? While this would be fantastic, it is highly unlikely. However, fear doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. After all, we experience fear for a reason.

There are different types of fear. However, these different types of fear can basically be separated into two different categories which are healthy fears and unhealthy fears.

Healthy fears are those that involve certain things in life that can cause harm to us, either emotionally or physically. For example, it is perfectly normal and healthy to be scared of fire or tornadoes. After all, this fear is likely what keeps us from getting too close to a fire or trying to get a better look at a tornado.

On the other hand, we have unhealthy fears. The difference between healthy fears and unhealthy fears is the fact that unhealthy fears do nothing more than hold us back in life and are based off of little to no reasoning.

For example, some people are afraid of success. When you think about it, there is not much reasoning that can possibly be behind this way of thinking. However, somewhere down the line people become used to the way things are and the simple thought of change strikes fear into their souls, even if it is change for the better.

At times it can be difficult for people to tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy types of fear. After all, fear feels like fear, no matter if it is healthy or not.

So the question is, how can you tell the difference between these two types of fear?

To be honest, it’s something that takes some practice and a little bit of trial and error. However, if you know the right way of going about things and have good tips to help you along the way, the process can be made much simpler.

These tips should get you off to a great start…

Determine what your fear in life:

It’s rather difficult to figure out whether or not your fears are healthy or unhealthy until you know what it is in life that scares you. For this reason, the best place to start on your adventure to creating a better life would be to make a list of all of your fears.

Make sure not to leave anything out and be sure to be as detailed as possible about each one of your fears. This process may take some time but it should be done thoroughly and not rushed.

List the pros and cons of each fear:

Listing the pros and cons of each fear on your list is a great way of figuring out what positive outcomes are coming out of your fears and what negative impacts are being caused.

While this may seem like a simple exercise, it is quite effective. A lot of people don’t realize how much their fear is holding them back in life until they see the negative outcomes listed on a piece of paper right in front of their face.

Determine if there is any real danger involved:

After you have made your list and listed the pros and cons, it’s time to determine if there is any real danger involved. Of course we should never do anything that has the possibility of harming us. However, when making this list, more often than not, people discover that there is no real danger involved.

Put all of it together:

This step is the real eye opener. Basically, all you need to do is put everything together that you write down on your list. This will surely help you to determine whether a fear is healthy and justified or unhealthy and life hindering.

Believe it or not, the process of conquering a fear can be made much simpler once we are aware of the fact that there is nothing to be scared of. It is understandable that we as humans like to create comfort bubbles. More often than not, this does little more than cause people to limit their own lives.

We only get one life to live so we should make the most of it and never settle for anything less. Fear does not have to be something that controls our lives. As a matter of fact, once we understand our fears and why we experience them, it becomes simple to work past them.

Always remember, there is no such thing as fearless. Even the biggest and toughest people in the world experience fear. Whether they will admit it or not is a different story.

Courage and strength doesn’t come from the absence of fear but rather from the ability to push past fear when it means that a brighter future is on the other side.

You have the power to create the life you desire. Never allow fear to hold you back, especially when it is unhealthy.